Back in the early '90s, the Disney film The Little Mermaid was released on VHS. Wikipedia says it was released in May 1990, but I don't remember that to be true. I bought mine when it was first released and I was already overseas, and had been for quite some time. I didn't go to Italy until January 1991. I was already over there when I decided to begin collecting Disney animated movies, so I wouldn't have bought it before then.Release date issues aside, the point I wanted to make was this: the first copies of the movie that were released on DVD had a bit of a controversy about them. Somebody in the art department decided to get cute with all the spires on the castle in the background. Seems he decided to draw what they called a "phallic symbol" in the spires. Only it wasn't so much a phallic symbol as it was a detailed drawing of a penis.
As soon as this was discovered, the movies were pulled from the shelves and the castle redrawn. There are still a few of the original covers out there, though. As soon as I heard about the incident, I went and checked my cover. Wouldn't you know it. I have one of them.
If you click the image, you can see it full size, and clearly see the...you know.
Cool, huh?
5 comments:
Hmm, I heard that about the movie Alladin, but not Little Mermaid.
I hadn't heard that about Aladdin. I'd heard Aladdin had to have some scenes rewritten because Arabs found them offensive, but not about anything sexual hidden in the movie.
Snopes says the story is false. Most kids would not notice such things, but they might notice how each daughter is rebellious and disobedient to her father (no mother - why is that?) and gets good things anyway.
When I was a kid, people were saying that if you played the Eagles, Hotel California backwards (who could really do that on a record player?) that the words "Satan, Satan, Satan" were heard. Churches all over the country had big record smashing events - good grief.
I don't trust everything Snopes says, though. Remember, Snopes is just one (ultra leftist) husband and wife team expressing their opinion. They are not the final authority on anything. There is DEFINITELY a penis in the spires. It is too realistic to be an accident.
I remember that controversy but never saw the offending cover. OMG - they ALL look like penises! But the one is just bigger than life...pun intended! You better hold onto that one...gotta be worth some bucks! How funny...
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